Current Board trend: It has felt a lot better for me since they started putting some carbon fibre into the boards.

ChristAir, Photo: JaakkoRomu

Please state your type of terrain on your board in hours, days and years or other

Street: 4-5 sessions/week. If I have a chance to skate a vert ramp all the time, then maybe just 1-2 sessions/week. Basically, if vert becomes too much of a hassle, then I go street skating.

(Skatepark) Flow Street: Rarely. I never really got the idea of “street course”.

Miniramp: I spend 5min or longer on a miniramp a few times per year. I try to avoid it the best I can. In some case I might get an idea of a lip trick that requires a mini ramp for the first touch.

Long board: I do ride my 16ft tall QP in Finland with “a longboard”. The trucks are tight, though. Maybe 30 sessions/ year.

Vert: Every given day. 12 monts/year.

Bowl: I wish I could do more, but I haven’t really got a bowl anywhere near now. I skate the concrete park and bowl everyday, when ever I’m Tampere in the summer.

Freestyle: I do practice flatland pretty often, but not exactly freestyle. I do obey the strict rules of 90’s street skating.

Please tell us about your daily DAY by the hours, (or tell us about your longest day the last week’s) we want to know how your day is looking like

06.00 Wake up, massaging my legs and stretching a bit.

07.00 Making breakfast

08.00 Serving breakfast to my kids

09.00 School run

10.00 Doing strength training routines at the park or cleaning the vert ramp or both.

11.00 Making lunch

12.00 Having lunch and making sure the little one can sleep if necessary.

13.00 Skate

14.00 Skate

15.00 School run

16.00 Taking my kids to do stuff outdoors or turning the TV on if the weather is too gnarly.

17.00 Making dinner and hopefully getting to eat as well.

18.00 Serving dinner to my kids

19.00 Supervising the kids while they watch TV and/or cause chaos.

20.00 Put the kids to sleep with my wife.

21.00 Relationship or she is away I do yoga.

22.00 Sleep

How are you doing at the moment? Fantastically.

How is your body at the moment, (injuries, knees, back, and so)?

Pretty good. We have lived in the countryside for a few months now. The past 8 years in London were a bit tough at times. A massive city with absolutely no vert ramp. A lot of walking on hard surfaces every day. I had some issues with my feet and toes, but now they’re all OK. Being forced to learn tech street skating in London has helped me out a lot. I had ligament injuries on my right knee about 10 years ago. I still have to be careful with the vert program. My body and mind really does need the vert buzz, but I have to make sure I treat my knees really well. In terms of my diet, warm ups, equipment, etc.

When did you start to skate and why? What tricked you into this?

I became aware of skateboarding in the early 80’s. I saw some older kids riding skateboards and I remember seeing some photos, movies, and articles that had skateboarding in them, but I never got try it before I was 11. This is when Police Academy 4 and Back To The Future were out.

I learned the basics of controlling a skateboard one evening in early September 1987. I was in this party at my classmate’s home. One girl at my class had a plastic skateboard that she always carried around with her, but never really used it for anything else. Somehow I got to escape the party and borrowed her board for a couple hours. There was a little patch of new asphalt in front of another house down the street. The girl that lived in that house was also at the same party and I learned that her parents were not at home either. So there was not going to be anyone to stop me from making noise in front of their house. So, somebody else’s board and somebody else’s street provided me the long awaited chance to practice how to skate without any social interruption. I mastered the tic-tac right then and started staying on the board comfortably. The next morning I told my mom I had learned how to ride a skateboard. She wasn’t too stoked, but she believed me. A couple weeks later she bought me a Variflex Air Attack on my 12th birthday.

I had ridden BMX a lot around the age of 8-10. I definitely had some sort of a natural talent for jumping off from all kinds of things. I had an easy access to play Ice Hockey and go downhill skiing after school all winter. Sometimes even during school days. So I was a pretty active child. My mum bought me a guitar and put me on guitar lessons when I was 10 years old. Music really opened up my creative thinking at that point. Very soon after, skateboarding of the Hollywood movies hit the little village I lived in. There was a boom and nearly every kid was hanging out with a skateboard on the side. Skating had the action that I had already gotten used to with all these sports and it also had the technical and the creative sides, where my ability to practice instrumental skills was put in good use. Plus there was none of that violence and social pressure of the team sports. I was able to start practicing something with virtually no limits.

Do you think you made the right choice (instead of playing football FX?)?

Remembering how I was as a kid, I think it makes total sense that I’m still doing this 30 years later. I feel really lucky that I got to experience skateboarding in the late 80’s. That view is still a huge source of creativity to me. I belong to the very first generation of skateboarders in Finland that kept skating all these years. It’s a special situation to be among the oldest in something like this. I have started following the winter sports a bit lately, and all of that stuff that I left behind a long time ago. It’s probably because I’m getting older. That only makes the feeling stronger, actually. Skateboarding just rules, but I’ve also learned to be happy for other people too, that they have found their passion in something different.

Any person’s that influences you at the moment? My children. Heavily.

What gets you motivated ?

Sun light. Seeing the pattern almost complete. Putting the old and overused patterns in to a whole new order. Finding a comfortable balance point from somewhere I previously used to feel uncomfortable at, just because I had made up this “fear”. Building a ramp.

Please comment your feelings, memories (if you are that old) & know how about Skateboarding in the

80s Everybody who skated was young. Bonded with the ultimate nerds in school because an exquisite music taste gotten from skate mags and videos. The mainstream culture seemed to be million miles away from what skaters were about. Skateboarding didn’t have all these other “sports alike”. A skate shoe looked like a shoe for skateboarding and you didn’t want to wear it unless you skated. Skated hard, I mean…

90s I did not really pay attention what happened in 1992,-93, and -94. I started skating every day again in 1995. Everything had become very strictly street or vert. In mainstream culture there was this thing called Extreme that presented a threat to us in form of inline skates, snow-, mountain-, and snakeboards along with speedy sunglasses. Some were stoked and some were just stoned. Thanks to the video guys, skateboarding was progressing like there was no tomorrow.

2000+ Skateboarding magazines became skateboarding photography magazines. Shoe and fashion designing become very important for some people. My kind of skateboarding became very lonely. If you wanted to meet friends you knew from skateboarding you had to go to a skate movie premiere or a skate photo exhibition or an opening of a skate art show. If you missed the chance, no problem. There would be another premiere next Wednesday the latest. Amazing concrete skateparks were built, but for skateboarders…it happened a little too late in some places.

2010+ Where are the masses of teen age boys and young men that ride skateboards? Have you seen random 12 year old kick flipping off loading dock lately? Young men disappeared all of a sudden? That’s how it seems in the skateparks at least. The demographics have changed drastically. Skateboarding is very strong at the moment, but if you do see somebody ripping today it’s most likely a girl or a vert kid or somebody 30+ with a skate beard. Street has become the new vert . Too hard for the young kids. And vert? Who ever started calling it vert? Skating in big ramps was announced dead by the skate media 25 years ago. How come it is rotting away right under our noses?

Do you feel skateboarding is in a good way?

Oh yes. Beyond my wildest dreams. Throughout the snob-ish 90’s and the bloated 00’s I was hoping that skateboarding would turn back into something crazy. Little bit like it was in 1989-1991. And it did, but the difference to the old is the magnitude of it. There are some many people involved now, globally. And so many generations at the same time.

Where do you stand & please comment with skateboarding in the Olympics?

Positive. I can’t see why you couldn’t hold a great skateboard contest in a big sports event. Skateboarding won’t turn into something like 100 meters sprint or what ever, just because it happens in the Olympics. There has been many skateboard contests held on music festivals, but it hasn’t turned skateboarding into becoming a music show. There used to be art competitions in the Olympic Games 1912-1948, such as architecture, sculpture, painting, music and literature. What’s new about having creative outlet such as skateboarding attached to the O Games? I wonder how the architects passed the drug tests back then, if there was any?

So many people I know that never ever before paid attention to any international skate contests, tours, games, etc. are now expressing their strong opinions about the Olympics. All of a sudden they became experts of it. I see that as a positive sign. So many years a lot of skaters were mostly concerned about skate shoe teams and who is riding for which small board company. Many skaters totally overlooked the contest side of skateboarding. “Live performance” in a skate contest is one of the best ways to give something to think about for the people that don’t ride a skateboard themselves. The videos and photos are for us. If competitive skateboarding never has been your gig , it shouldn’t matter to you where and why the comps take place. Skate street or diy at your backyard and the Olympics will never bother you.

Where do you stand in terms of politics?

In the audience. It has become really entertaining lately. Thanks to social media. People are feeling so bummed on everything. I love reading that type of stuff and be like: Wow…really?

When I chill, I chill with, a cup of tea.

I’m have been on a mission lately in (with) To put a decent video part together for Andy Evans’ new video “Just in Time” . I was when 31 years old when the first trick was filmed and 41 when I made the last few tricks in the section. Lot of things happened to me outside skateboarding too in those 10 years. It was a great relief to see the part finished. I always knew I was capable of doing all that, but there were a couple of big surprises during the project. Firstly, that it took solid 10 years to make it happen. And the fact that I kept progressing faster and faster to older I got. It was definitely a self- driven process for the most part, but Andy does deserve a big THANK YOU for putting it all together.

Dream session would be, something I haven’t really thought of. Am I living the dream…?

Lately I have been working on, Varial Heel Lien Air. I haven’t made it yet.

When I was little I would like to, learn the Mctwist, I guess?

When I’m home I like to, get everything done early enough, so that I can stay still for a while before going to bed.

What kind of music to you listen to ? I hardly listen to any music, but sometimes I break the silence by learning something new with one of my guitars. I tend to follow the random inspirations I get.

I normally call my homies much too rarely. I’m living on a different time zone.

Your homies are actually my wife and kids. I’m going through this period in my life now, you know.

I enjoy going outdoors basically.

Indy360, photo: JaakkoRomu

FAVORITS

Beer: I had 1 glass of it last night for the first time in 5 years. Man, was it tasty!

City’s: I’m not going to say Copenhagen, but it’s a nice city. Do I have to like cities? I do find all of them rather uncomfortable after a while.

PEOPLE:

Writers: Me.

Actors: Mark Churchill

Skaters: rule the world.

Homeboys: come and sit on the ledge when the weather gets warm enough.

Random’s: The bolts are good.

Technology:

Tablet: No

TV: I don’t know.

Camera: Canon, GoPro

Phone: Apple

APP: What?

Car: Subaru

Bike: Carrera Hybrid

When was the last time you really won big time? Wedding day.

When was the time you really lost big time? The last time I worked 9-5.

When I travel, I always bring, Special food.

Best travel advice I can give is, you usually will get to the airport in time. No need to hype yourself up non-stop for 5h before you get there. And even if you don’t make it in time…there probably is a solution. It’s an airport. More flights will be taking off shortly.

Best life advice I can give is, don’t underestimate the importance of a decent sleep-wake-pattern.

Are you good with money (do you plan, safe it, cash in or blow it)? Yes.

Best travel memory you want to share? No.

When I do not skateboard I, do get prepared for it.

My fitness program is, 20min warm up, rotating all the main joints both ways about 20 times+quick stretches for legs followed by jump and jack-variations if necessary. Upper body: At least 4×10 clean pull ups on a bar. 5×15 dips on dip bars. 3 x 12 down hill push ups. Sit ups while holding myself up right on dip bars, 50-80reps. Lunge variations and squats for lower body in case I’m not skating vert for a couple days. I do mix the program nearly every time, but I keep the amount of different moves fairly limited.

Do you care about your health? I guess you can put it that way.

Anything that concerns you at the moment?

Taking care of 2 little human beings every day keeps you a little concerned by default.

When I get old I want to keep some of the physical abilities I have now till the very end. It would also be rad to be able to look back and genuinely think that I did spend my limited time on earth on something meaningful, at least on a personal level.

I would NEVER, blame anybody else for the lifestyle I have.

I would like to see more of, sweaty backs when people go do stuff.

That one time where I was in jail because of not stopping being loud at 5AM on a boat to Stockholm.

I should do more of, social interaction.

My future looks like, I could keep doing what I do for a couple of more years. I’ve already started to allow myself to take it a bit easier on some days.

I dream of one day that I would, complete the code of skateboarding and walk down to the parking lot to be silently picked up by big black Mercedes with tinted windows.

On Netflix / YouTube / Internet I watch, all kinds of random TV stuff I’ve missed out since the early 1990’s when I stopped watching TV.

If I could change the world I, would start from the supermarket.

Everybody should own a flat or 2… I seriously don’t know?

The hobby I have, no one knows about is, I play opposite-handed guitar the right way around fairly often. Basically developing guitar skills to all 4 directions.

I will never get rid of, many things. I’m a bit of a collector.

I would love to be in a movie with, No.

Any regrets in life so far? Even if I went and took something too far. It was the road back from there that made the mistake worthwhile. I haven’t really regreted any of the obvious opportunities I didn’t take. There was always a gut-feeling I rather followed than the social pressure.

Who should we follow on social media at the moment ? Don’t ask me. I just skate.

Random story’s you want to share? There are plenty of random stories tell, but the right place for those stories are in a car seat. As long as we can afford to drive around together, the stories will be told and the legends will stay alive.

Thanks to my wife Pauliina, my boys Kaare and Kian. My Parents. Thanks to Andy Evans for the new movie “Just In Time” and all the people who filmed me and supported me while it was taking it’s shape. Jaakko Romu for these photos. And of course you Thomas Kring for inviting me.